Brighton MR Summit Looms

The annual conference of the British Market Research Association (BMRA) is four weeks away. Delegates will get the chance to debate the future of MR with the leaders of TNS, Synovate and YouGov, and to hear from clients ranging from Microsoft to the Islamic Bank of Britain.

The conference, entitled Research Directions 2005, focuses on the future of MR, and the BMRA hopes to involve delegates in debating and shaping where the industry goes. New for this year is the TKD Research-sponsored Technology Workshop, which offers practical advice and insights to help delegates save time and money and improve project management.

The CfMC Europe-sponsored Industry Leaders' Summit on the first day provides the chance to discuss where the industry is heading, with Tony Cowling, Chairman of TNS, Tim Bowles, CEO Western Europe, Synovate, Cris Tarrant, Chairman of BDRC, Andrew Hill, Financial Editor of the Financial Times, Peter Kellner, Chairman of YouGov and Penny Hughes, President of the Advertising Association.

Day two, sponsored by Sample Answers and entitled 'A Fork in the Road?', will be based around research case studies. The Islamic Bank of Britain's Campaign Manager Alun Williams and Synovate's Anjul Sharma will discuss the role of research in the campaign to create a complex ethnic brand in a rigid financial services framework. Shivaun McCullough from Young & Rubicam Brands and Jemma Harris from Microsoft will then discuss the pros and cons of local and global research.

Ivor Stocker, BMRA Chairman, says he is confident that the speakers 'will make delegates sit up and think about where our own industry is heading'. He adds: 'We really are at a fork in the road - this is the time to be choosing where we want the future to take us, and no market researcher can afford to sit back.'

Stocker points out that the organisation has stuck to its principle of keeping the cost down, with registration for two days costing £170. 'Our aim is to make the BMRA conference THE great value 'must attend' industry event,' he states, adding that 'new delegates will need to be quick if they want to be sure of a place'.

Research Directions 2005 is taking place on 14th and 15th November 2005 at the Thistle Hotel, Brighton. The programme opens with a free networking reception at 7pm on Sunday 13th November. The Industry Leaders' Summit takes place between 2pm and 5pm on 14th November, to be followed by a drinks reception and dinner sponsored by Research Now.

BMRA is online at www.bmra.org.uk.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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